Make a friend — save a trafficking victim

Traffickers often prey on people who look lonely. People without friends, people without a meaningful job and people who don’t have somewhere to go all tend to display certain visual clues. That appearance of head down, shoulders slumped, and listless walking are all tell-tale signs of someone who could be potentially trafficked.

Traffickers are always looking for victims

Simply by appearing to be interested in the person, the trafficker can win them over quickly, drawing them into the trap of moving away with them, and then being ultimately tricked into sex trafficking.

Actually, loneliness is more prevalent than you might imagine. In a recent study by Cigna U.S., a survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults ages 18 years and older revealed some alarming findings:

• Nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone (46 percent) or left out (47 percent).
• One in four Americans (27 percent) rarely or never feel as though there are people who really understand them.
• Two in five Americans sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful (43 percent) and that they are isolated from others (43 percent).
• One in five people report they rarely or never feel close to people (20 percent) or feel like there are people they can talk to (18 percent).

That said, one could assume that from 20 to 50% of Americans could fall prey to a smooth-talking trafficker.

Get involved

So, if loneliness is that prevalent, then it would behoove us to keep our eyes open for those who display the telltale signs. If it’s someone you know, maybe invite them to a social event coming up at your church or community center. If it’s a classmate of yours or your child, maybe just suggest eating lunch together or meeting up at a sporting event. Help them to find a group to join where they feel they can fit in.

It could be as simple as having just one person they feel they can talk to, to prevent them from falling into the trap of trafficking. Your simple gesture of friendship could be the difference between a promising life or a life without hope.

Be aware — victims are all around us in all types of neighborhoods.

Originally published at Stop Human Trafficking Website.